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Family Presidential Election, 2008
The Family presidential election for 2008 was the 1st biennennial presidential election. It was held on December 6, 2007. The Moderate Party nominee Jeffrey, and his running mate, Elder Council Member Elizabeth, were elected to a surprise first term, defeating the favoured Amnesty Party nominee - Family activist Veronica. Also contesting were Bart for the newly formed Traditional Party and Brennan, who ran as leader of the Bloc Quebecois, which only contested the Presidency and no legislative seats. The campaign was the first in family history and heavily focused on the issue of Prasana's exile, and whether to keep him in exile or to remove it. The Amnesty and Moderate Parties supported overturning his exile, while the Traditionals supported keeping it in place. The Bloc suggested Prasana learn French. Despite a huge lead and a lot of momentum behind Veronica and the Amnesty Party when the campaign started, Jeffrey and the Moderates proved to be competent opponents, painting the Amnesty as too left-wing and extreme for a generally conservative family. Jeffrey defeated his opponents, tightly winning both the popular vote and the 3 of the 6 family sections, with 31 votes to Veronica's 29. The 2008 presidential election coincided with the first ever Family Council elections where the 9 elected Council seats faced inaugural election. Nominations Moderate Party Nomination Main Article: Moderate Presidential Primary, 2008 Candidates * Jeffrey: Accountant, helped found the Moderate Party alongside Elizabeth and George. * Elizabeth: District Attorney, helped found the Moderate Party alongside Jeffrey and George. Amnesty Party Nomination Main Article: Amnesty Presidential Primary, 2008 Candidates * Veronica: Activist and lead campaigner for the attempt to return Prasana from exile. Founder of the Amnesty Party. Bloc Quebecois Nomination Main Article: Bloc Quebecois Presidential Primary, 2008 * Because the Party was started after Primary Period, no official Primary was held. Traditional Party Nomination Main Article: Traditional Presidential Primary, 2008 Candidates * Bart: Spouse of Elizabeth. Political Activist. * Linda: Lead Campaigner for keeping Prasana's exile. General Election Campaign Issues Right to Exile Prasana's exile became a huge conversation starter and the main issue which started the elected family council. The Amnesty Party took the position that exiles should not ever be done by the family. Presidential Candidate Veronica stated that she would make sure exiles would never happen again in the family, regardless of reason. The Moderates' Jeffrey agreed that Prasana's exile was idiotic, but suggested there were some cases where exiles would be necessary. He suggested putting exiling to a vote to Family Council being the standard for future cases. The Traditional Party's position supported exiles and preferred power be vested in family elders to decide exiling. The Bloc Quebecois' Brennan supported exiling, as long as it did not involve Quebec. LGBT Rights LGBT Rights were also an issue. In 2006, Sabrina was exiled by the family after she came out as a lesbian. The Amnesty Party supported instilling support for family members who come out as LGBT and preventing any discrimination by family members. The Moderate Party took the position of allowing the decision to be within the family unit, rather than the entire family council. The Traditional Party supported the status quo of exile for those who come out as LGBT, with Bart suggesting the Traditionals would support re-admittance of LGBT Family members if they apologize and realize they made a mistake. The Bloc position was to make Quebec a de-militarized LGBT friendly zone, despite this being above the Family Council's control. Influence of Elders The Elder Council was an important topic of debate in the election. The Moderate Party supported the abolishment of family elders having a say in decisions, unless they were elected members of Family Council. The Traditional Party favoured a structure where the Elder Council would be separate from the regular Family Council and would act as an Upper House "Senate", with the right to block the lower council legislation. The Amnesty Party was also in support of the abolishment of the Elder Council, and turning the seats into elected constituencies. The BQ's position was to abolish the Elder Council and replace it with a Quebec Council - solely filled with family members from Quebec. Debates Two debates were held for the Presidential Candidates. The first was an online chat held over MSN on November 17, 2007 between the four major Presidential candidates. The transcript was made available for family members who could not tune in. The second debate took place on November 25, 2007 in person in Toronto at Helen's house. Moderate candidate Jeffrey was unable to attend and therefore appeared via Video messaging. Video was also recorded for relatives who could not make it. Opinion Polling TBA. Controversies Amnesty Party Hidden Agenda The Moderates and Traditionals both campaigned suggesting the Amnesty Party and Veronica had a hidden agenda. Both suggested the slate she was running was very left-wing slanted and would try to hijack an otherwise conservative family. Veronica countered by stating she had been a federal Conservative Party of Canada supporter years, and produced a Conservative Party membership card to prove it. Brennan All three other Presidential candidates accused Brennan and the Bloc Quebecois of running a satrized campaign. Jeffrey stated he felt Brennan was "mocking an otherwise very important election," while Veronica stated "Brennan is only contributing to a vote split which will get a Traditional elected." Brennan stated his party and ideas were very serious, despite not running any candidates for Family Council. He stated he was merely trying to bring to light issues family members from Quebec faced every day. He also made it a point to state constantly that he was not an official wing of the Canadian political party with the same name. Results Category:Family Presidential Election